Femi Falana, a senior advocate of
Nigeria (SAN), has asked the judicial panel investigating Ibrahim Magu,
suspended chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), not
to act on “misleading evidence”.
The panel, headed by Ayo Salami,
retired president of the appeal court, is investigating Magu over allegations
of corruption and abuse of office.
In a letter dated September 4,
2020, Falana said one Gnahouse Sonrou Nazaire, a Benin Republic national who is
standing trial at the Lagos state high court, petitioned the panel that he was
accused wrongly by the EFCC under Magu.
In the two charges pending at the
Lagos state high court, Nazaire was accused of having defrauded Rachidatou
Abdou, his erstwhile girlfriend and business partner who is a Nigerian citizen.
Falana, writing on behalf of
Abdou, his client, requested that the panel refrain from recommending the
termination of the charges against Nazaire at the Lagos court.
The senior lawyer said Naziare
and others have been frustrating the court proceedings, and are now using the
panel to have the criminal cases against them terminated.
“Our client who is the
complainant in both criminal cases has informed us that the defendants recently
submitted a petition to the Honourable Judicial Commission of Inquiry headed by
the Honourable Justice Issa Ayo Salami PCA (rtd) where they claimed, albeit
falsely, that the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Magu abused his office by charging them with forgery
and stealing in the Lagos State High Court on the basis of a petition written
on her behalf by our law firm,” the letter read.
“We have since confirmed that the Honourable
Judicial Commission entertained the petition, reviewed the two criminal cases
pending in the Lagos State High Court and took evidence from the 2nd defendant
who has been dismissed from the company on grounds of fraud. The tainted
evidence of the defendants was said to have been corroborated by his lawyer who
alleged that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is currently
prosecuting Mr. Ricky Tarfa SAN for defending the defendants in the criminal
cases.
“Contrary to the spurious
evidence of the defendants before the Honourable Judicial Commission our
client’s petition was submitted to the EFCC under the chairmanship of Mr.
Ibrahim Lamorde. The EFCC painstakingly investigated the complaint, indicted
the defendants and charged them with forgery and uttering of documents at the
Lagos State High Court on July 20, 2015.
The Charge No was LD/1709C/2015 (FRN v Gnahoue Sourou Nazaire &2
Ors) was later amended with the leave of the learned trial judge. However,
following the commencement of the criminal proceedings in the Lagos State High
Court the defendants filed a fundamental right application (Suit No
FHC/L/CS/715/2015) at the Federal High Court seeking to restrain the Attorney-General
of the Federation, Inspector General of Police and EFCC from arresting,
detaining and persecuting them on the basis of our client’s complaint.
“It is on record that the
criminal case instituted by the EFCC against the defendants at the Lagos State
High Court in July 2015 and the fundamental rights cases filed by the
defendants at the Federal High Court were inherited by Mr. Ibrahim Magu in
November 2015 upon his appointment as the Acting Chairman of the EFCC.
Therefore, the defendants LIED ON OATH and deliberately set out to pervert the
course of justice when they claimed before the Honourable Judicial Commission
that our client’s petition was submitted to the EFCC under the leadership of
Mr. Ibrahim Magu.”
Arguing that the panel lacks the
competence to review the criminal cases that are pending before the court,
Falana said if the panel fails to react, he would approach federal high court
“with a view to quashing the proceedings of this Honourable Judicial Commission
of Inquiry for reviewing criminal cases that are pending before the Lagos State
High Court.”
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